1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inter-terminal telecommunications network for the transmission of data by packets.
It can be applied notably to the making of local area networks for communications among business firms.
Local area networks are naturally designed to link users with the switched telephone network as well as to put microcomputer stations into communication with one another or with external data-processing systems by means of a data service center.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An inter-terminal telecommunications network is formed in a standard way by a set of transmission nodes connected to one another by lines on which there flow information elements of the network transmitted by transmission stations.
The installation of small-sized local area networks within one and the same office, for example, does not raise major difficulties. By contrast, once the network starts covering larger units such as a whole building or a set of buildings, all sorts of difficulties appear, notably in the management of the configuration of the network which must take the development of the network components into account, and in running and maintenance which require that the defective elements of the network should be known at all times so that the routing of the information elements is not interrupted.
These constraints lead to rigid configurations that are ill-suited to the development of services and of the terminals. These rigid configurations, ultimately, are not satisfactory for the users who would like their automated office configuration to be permanently open-ended in order to benefit from the new advantages offered by the development of technologies, and who would like their investments to yield returns for economically acceptable lengths of time.
The aim of the invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks.